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O KEY OF DAVID
December 20

Symbols: Key

Come, and bring forth the captive from his prison.

O Key of David, and Scepter of the House of Israel, who opens and no man shuts, who shuts and no man opens; Come and bring forth the captive from his prison, he who sits in darkness and in the shadow of death.

O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israël, qui aperis, et nemo claudit, claudis, et nemo aperuit: veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

The key is the emblem of authority and power. Christ is the Key of the House of David who opens to us the full meaning of the scriptural prophecies, and reopens for all mankind the gate of Heaven.

Recommended Readings: Isaias 22:22-25

4) The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple. (Luke 2:43-45)

Today it's brief and simple.

We should not be concerned if we perceive that we have lost the Lord. We cannot HAVE the Lord in the first place. He is not ours to lose. We can have the consolation of feeling his presence, of discerning his loving care. Or not.

Before I learned of Mother Teresa's desolation, I already knew of other great saints, clear windows through which the light of God passed, whose closeness to our Lord was chiefly felt in a desire to cry out "Why have you forsaken me?" So desolation, though painful, is not a disaster, however much it feels like one.

The disaster would be if the Lord lost us. If you fear THAT disaster, you know what to do. Pray HARD. Remember who he is. Read Psalm 77 and see how the cosmic Lord, the Lord whose advent stirs up tempest and earthquake and pierces through the deep -- THAT Lord, who he sees us and treats us a sheep to be gently led.

Sometimes I had to upend my sheep and trim their hooves. They hated it. They utterly loathe having their lower limbs held. But I did it so they wouldn't get lame.

He will, from time to time, upend us. We won't like it. But he never ceases his care.

Mary and Joseph thought they had lost IHS. Okay. But he never lost them.